iPolitics AM: Team Trudeau descends on London for post-holiday cabinet confab

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by Joe Drummond of the Doubletree by Hilton hotel as he arrives in London for a three day Liberal retreat in London, Ont., Wednesday January, 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley

With the fleeting but frantic flurry of partisan parliamentary dramatics surrounding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s now infamous trip to the Aga Khan’s private Bahamian island now over, at least for the moment — the precinct has already settled back into its traditional post-holiday slumber.

As of this morning, the real-time political news spotlight has shifted, albeit temporarily, to southwestern Ontario, where the Team Trudeau cabinet is set to descend on the London Convention Centre for a two-day retreat to discuss the latest developments on the national — and international — level.

While the agenda for today’s closed-door session remains a matter of, well, cabinet confidentiality, it’s not hard to guess what might top the list of topics, starting with the latest twists and turns on the road to a renegotiated NAFTA.

Depending on which financial news wire you believe, the Canadian government is either actively poised to write off the hoped-for renewal of the continental trade pact as a lost cause, or, alternately, is making every effort to retain at least a sliver of optimism on the outcome, even while preparing for the worst-case-scenario outcome.

The meeting is set to get underway later this morning, but before it does, Trudeau will take questions from two local media outlets — CBC’s London Morning and Newstalk 1290’s Morning Show with Ken and Lisa.

Later this evening, he’ll head to Western University to continue his town hall tour with an evening Q&A.

ON THE PARLIAMENTARY AGENDA

Both the House of Commons and the Senate have shut down for the winter parliamentary break, and will re-open for business in late January.

As the countdown to the legalization of recreational cannabis sales — which is currently set to come into effect at some point this summer — continues, Yukon Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee is set to share her government’s proposed legislative response to the change during a mid-afternoon press conference at the headquarters of the Yukon Liquor Corporation.